How Telstra will help Linfox monitor its fleet

Implementing “advanced telematics solutions”.

Telstra has provided more details of its deal with Linfox to provide technology to monitor the transport company’s truck fleet.

Telstra CEO Andy Penn announced the deal in Telstra’s half-year results presentation earlier in February, saying Linfox had selected Telstra and subsidiary MTData as strategic partners to “implement advanced telematics solutions that will provide leading edge, actionable data in their transport logistics.”

In a subsequent press release, Telstra said it and MTData had partnered with Linfox to implement an advanced telematics and management solution into Linfox’s Australian truck fleet to “deliver advanced transport and logistics data and quality benchmarking information to enhance public and driver safety on Australian roads.”

Linfox CIO Conrad Harvey said the technology would enable the company to better monitor and measure safety compliance throughout its fleet, reduce risk factors and enhance safe driver behaviour.”

He said the company planned also to “work with the broader industry to establish the necessary standards to help make electronic work diaries a reality,” adding: “We are investing in data lake platforms and analytics tools to store large amounts data and interpret it in new and unexpected ways.

“Recently, we partnered with one of our pharmaceutical customers to analyse historical supply chain data to help them better plan and manage the demands of the flu season. Through big data, we will be able to help our customers to predict future events and solve problems in ways we've never seen before.

“The possibilities are endless. They will also be able to streamline the maintenance of digital driver worksheets and improve accuracy.

“The data collected from FoxTrax 2.0 will allow us to predict future events and create tailored alerts for our drivers and maintenance teams. In the future, machine learning and artificial intelligence will combine sensors and high speed central data processing to increase productivity and unlock new business opportunities.”

Telstra said its IoT solution would include Samsung tablets mounted into Linfox heavy vehicles, so drivers could access logbooks and complete safety checklists, and have capability, in some vehicles, for in-cabin recording of road safety incidents.

Harvey added: “The technology will require our drivers to log on and complete safety checklists before they head off on the road and will allow us to gain more accurate in-cab readings of speed and distance.

“The devices will enable us to coordinate our vehicles efficiently, reduce congestion on the roads and above all, ensure a higher level of safety for the community.”

The deal follows Telstra’s acquisition of MTData in November 2017. The Sydney-based company was founded in 2003 and today has offices in Australia, the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and the Middle East.

MTData claims to hold a 95 percent share of the Australian taxi market, to be a “highly recognisable leader in taxi dispatch,” in the US with “a large and expanding customer base” and to be “one of the leading providers of taxi dispatch solutions” in Canada.

Most of this is not news to Linfox customers, however, because details of the project had already been revealed in the December 2017 edition of the Linfox customer magazine.

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